Arizona girl's life saved by bone marrow transplant
PHOENIX - Last December, Anna Delaney began having repeated fevers.
Her mother Melissa Delaney says doctor after doctor was stumped by Anna’s symptoms.
“She ultimately was diagnosed with chronic active Epstein Barr Virus, which is a very rare complicatin of Mono, having to do with an immunodeficiency she has,” says Melissa Delaney.
After doctors at Phoenix Children’s Hospital told Melissa her daughter’s illness was life-threatening, the hospital performed a bone marrow transplant to try to save Anna’s life.
“When I got my bone marrow transplant, it took about 2 hours,” Anna Delaney says. “And one of the child life specialists said, ‘Sometimes you have a yucky taste in your mouth, and a ring pop sometimes helps.’”
Yucky taste aside, Anna’s transplant was a success.
She celebrated 100 days of clear health on Thanksgiving Day.
Now, she’s eagerly awaiting a post-transplant adventure.
“I’m doing my Make A Wish,” Delaney says. “I want to go to Paris and mommy's going to get me every pastry I want!”
Melissa Delaney is grateful to the generous donor who helped Anna, and encourages others to consider becoming a bone marrow donor.
“It’s really such an easy opportunity to save a life,” Delaney says. “It takes a swab of the cheek, maybe one sick day for the process. And it truly is something that will save someone's life.”
To learn more about how to become a bone marrow donor, visit www.bethematch.org, the National Marrow Donor Registry’s website.